About us:

Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods grows meat, poultry, and seafood directly from real animal cells. These products are not vegan or vegetarian—they are delicious meat, made without the need to raise and slaughter billions of animals. In doing so, the company aims to address some of the most pressing environmental, animal welfare, and public health challenges, while still giving people the meat they love.

Founded as the world’s first cultivated meat company in 2015, UPSIDE Foods (formerly Memphis Meats) has achieved numerous industry-defining milestones, including being the first company to produce multiple species of meat (beef, chicken, and duck) and to sell a cultivated meat product in the United States. The company believes that people shouldn’t have to choose between the foods they love and a thriving planet, and is working to build a better food system with access to delicious, humane, and sustainable meat, poultry, and seafood.

UPSIDE Foods has won various industry awards, including New York Times’ Good Tech Awards, FastCo’s Next Big Thing in Tech and World Changing Ideas Awards, and the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources. UPSIDE Foods has raised a total of $608 million, including from the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), Baillie Gifford, Bill Gates, Cargill, John Doerr, John Mackey, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Norwest, Richard Branson, Softbank, Temasek, Threshold, Tyson Foods, and others.

About this job:

The Head of Sales will be responsible for developing and executing foodservice sales strategies that build UPSIDE’s foundation for sustainable growth. This role requires a dynamic leader with a proven track record of building and managing high-performing sales teams, fostering strong customer relationships, and achieving ambitious sales and offtake targets.

We’re doing something the world has never seen before. And we’re looking for an extraordinary individual to join us on this journey and help bring cultivated meat to the world in our newly created sales leadership role.

We know we’re looking for a unicorn… but let us know if you might just fit the bill!

An experienced sales leader with a proven track record of selling food or food-adjacent products into foodservice and away from home channels
A creative problem solver that loves a challenge and is excited to apply their deep sales experience to helping build a market and following for a new-to-the-world product and category
A food-service industry “insider” that is well positioned and networked and has contacts into key foodservice establishments - from mid-to-large scale - and can also flex into the retail world that has experience working with big and small brands
A strategic storyteller that can find win-wins, develop the right positioning and sell story, and inspire customers to join us on a journey to transform the food system - not just to place an order
A collaborator and people person with high EQ that can partner closely with internal stakeholders - like brand, marketing, product, finance - and build and maintain strong relationships externally… that isn’t intimidated by science and technology
A proven enterprise leader that can cast an inspiring vision, elevate the voice of the customer with internal stakeholders and leadership, coach and develop a team to deliver their best work, and be willing to pull up their sleeves

In addition to the above, you’re an energetic leader with 15+ years of experience; exceptional communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills; a passion for excellence and a strong sense of urgency; and a team builder who wants to have fun at work while working hard to change the world.

This role will report directly to the Chief Operating Officer.

Responsibilities include:

Strategy: Refine and execute against a comprehensive sales strategy - starting with foodservice, but also including D2C and retail as it makes sense - that is aligned with company goals and market trends
Sales Management: Primary owner of the sales pipeline for mid-to-large-scale chains, from filling the pipeline with credible leads to moving prospects through the pipeline
Customer Engagement: Cultivate and maintain relationships with key clients and stakeholders to win customers and maintain high satisfaction, retention, and evangelism
Market Analysis: Conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify new opportunities and stay ahead of industry trends, and identify prime targets
Collaboration: Work closely with brand and marketing, product development, and other departments to align sales efforts with overall business objectives
Budget Management: Develop and manage the sales budget, ensuring effective allocation of resources to maximize ROI
Performance Improvement: Continuously evaluate sales processes and implement best practices to enhance team performance and efficiency

About you:

15+ years of relevant experience in senior roles in sales, preferably spanning start-up and larger organizations through periods of significant growth in a consumer branded field. Track record of closing deals in new categories
Ability to operate at both a strategic and execution level– have a startup mindset
High financial and commercial acumen - prior P&L ownership, strong command of data analysis and insight generation
Experience / comfort with science and technology
Worked on enduring consumer brands (versus B2B) and know how to set a brand apart in a cluttered, otherwise-commoditized category. Experience in luxury, fashion, food, cosmetics, consumer tech or similar fields
Exceptional communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills
Strong intuition and gut balanced with a love for insights and data-driven decision making
Proven strategic thinking and problem solving capabilities
Superior organizational skills, attention to detail, strong work ethic, and high degree of urgency
Ability to manage competing priorities and points of view and drive towards deadlines and outcomes
Love working at multiple levels - from strategic, long-term to engaging in the details
A great team leader and coach who is eager to roll up your sleeves and build a team that can have fun while working hard to change the world
High level of interpersonal maturity, poise and professionalism
Thrive in dynamic, ambiguous environments with evolving responsibilities; growth mindset and highly flexible and adaptable

Who you’ll work with:

You’ll have a team of one (existing business development manager)
You’ll work directly and closely with our Chief Operating Officer and interact regularly with our Leadership team and Directors across the organization

Key Contributions in the First Year:

Help sell-out our plant capacity that is coming online in H2 2025, with customers that are brand accretive and help tell our overall UPSIDE story - and that can also help us scale to the next level
Build out our long-term sales strategy

Compensation Range: $150,000 - $300,000*
*Pay may vary depending on factors including job-related knowledge and skills.

UPSIDE Benefits!

Stock options for all full-time incoming team members!
90-100% employer-paid healthcare premiums for team members (medical [including HSA and FSA], dental, and vision)
Pet insurance for your furry family members!
Unlimited PTO
Employee Engagement Council
Company-sponsored learning & development opportunities

UPSIDE Foods is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. Our company-wide mission is to create a product for everyone, so we are deeply committed to having teams and leaders that reflect this mission.

Head of Sales

Memphis Meats

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